On November 19, 2001, the Florida Legal Services Inc. Migrant Farmworker Justice Project filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of migrant farm workers in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, ...
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On November 19, 2001, the Florida Legal Services Inc. Migrant Farmworker Justice Project filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of migrant farm workers in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging violations of the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1801-1872, the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219, and the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, 26 U.S.C. §§ 3101-3128. Plaintiffs were field workers that planted, cultivated, prepared, and harvested tomatoes and other crops in south Florida on farm operations of Mecca Farms, Inc. The workers alleged that: they were not paid minimum wage, they were denied overtime wages, employee Social Security taxes were deducted from their wages but were never paid to the government and their hours worked were incorrectly calculated. Plaintiffs sought monetary damages and class certification.

This was a companion case to the lawsuit Martinez v. Mecca Farms, Inc. [IM-FL-13] which was filed on behalf of workers in Florida tomato and chili pepper packing houses.

Following filing of the suit, the parties engaged in discovery and then filed cross-motions for summary judgment. Prior to any substantive court rulings, the case was settled.

On April 7, 2003, the District Court (Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp) formally approved the settlement in the case, retaining jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the settlement, but otherwise dismissing and closing the case. Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, an unlimited joint settlement fund was created to settle claims in the Luz-Carranza case and in the companion case v Martinez. Mecca Farms, Inc. [IM-FL-13]. The defendants agreed to pay the Luz-Carranza class members were to be paid $5.00 per day for field work and Martinez class members $4.00 per day worked in the tomato packing houses and $3.00 per day worked in the pepper packing houses. Defendants also agreed to file appropriate W-2 forms with the government. Attorneys fees in the amount of $200,000.00 would be paid by defendants and a $25,000 contribution would also be made to a local farm workers assistance group.